Vertical Scar for a Skin-Only Tummy Tuck?

asked 1 year ago by Fort Monroe VA in virginia beach va
Latest answer by Karol A. Gutowski, MD
Question viewed 634 times
Tags: age 35-44, female, after weight loss, massive weight loss, vertical scar

had a tummy tuck 2 weeks ago(skin-only) At post-op appt,I noticed that standing up I had a flat stomach with a little pooching around belly button, but what bothers me is when i bend over& sit down; I have a little roll on each side of my belly button. When I asked my surgeon he said some people's skin looses elasticity and re-strech in 48 hrs,especially w/ massive weight loss(185lbs). he said that he would have to do a vertical scar from tummy tuck line vertically to my breasts. why this?

6 answers to Vertical Scar for a Skin-Only Tummy Tuck?

Loose skin above belly button after abdominoplasty

You do have some options for this problem if it does not improve after 3 months (give it some time for the swelling to improve and skin to contract). It is common for patients who lost a large amount of weight to have the skin stretch out a bit after surgery. If you don't see improvement, the following options can be discussed with your Board Certified plastic surgeon: • Repeat or circumferential abdominoplasty • Vertical skin excision (as was recommended) •... more

Karol A. Gutowski, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

A Panniculectomy (Skin ONLY removal) is NOT a Tummy Tuck and will not produce Tummy Tuck Results

Regarding: "Vertical Scar for a Skin-Only Tummy Tuck? had a tummy tuck 2 weeks ago(skin-only) At post-op appt,I noticed that standing up I had a flat stomach with a little pooching around belly button, but what bothers me is when i bend over& sit down; I have a little roll on each side of my belly button. When I asked my surgeon he said some people's skin looses elasticity and re-strech in 48 hrs,especially w/ massive weight loss(185lbs). he said that he would have to... more

Peter A. Aldea, MD
Memphis Plastic Surgeon

Another operation after skin-only tummy tuck?

Congratulations on your 185 lb. weight loss! If your photo is a post-op photo, you do indeed have residual skin laxity on either side of your belly button, and this will not get better as time goes by. I am struck by your statement that you had a "skin-only" tummy tuck; does this mean your doctor did a "smaller" procedure than a "standard" tummy tuck, which would involve transposition of the belly button, muscle tightening from breastbone to pubic bone, and... more

Richard H. Tholen, MD, FACS
Minneapolis Plastic Surgeon

www.mpsmn.com

Skin laxity after tummy tuck

With massive weight loss I often do what is called a fleur-de-lis approach imcorporating a vertical incision in some patients because as the weight comes down and you "deflate" it comes off in a verical and horizontal way, and a standard tummy tuck is often not enough.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Tummy tuck scars

If this is a postop photo, you do have some extra skin still. Patients with massive weight loss have extremely poor elasticity and sometimes it is necessary to have a full vertical scar also to take out as much as possible. It will never be "tight" though!

Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Persistent skin redundancy following tummy tuck for massive wieght loss.

IT is very true that patients with massive weight loss, do not have good skin elasticity and have a greater tendency for recurrent skin laxity following body contouring procedures. Another alternative to performing a veritcal for upper abdominal laxity is to cosider a possible reverse abdominoplasty.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

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